The identity and amount of amino acids in a patient's body fluid (e.g., plasma) is important in a patient's health for a number of reasons. Aberrant amino acid levels can be used to diagnose disease or illness. For example, low plasma amino acid levels may occur in patients with cancer, anorexia, arthritis, folliculitis, alcohol abuse, glucagonoma, and/or pregnancy. Patients undergoing stress or depression may also have low plasma amino acid levels. In particular, depressed patients may be deficient in phenylalanine, tyrosine, methionine, glycine, tryptophan, and/or taurine. Psychotic patients may have low levels of amino acids such as glycine, tryptophan, and/or histidine and elevated levels of amino acids such as phenylalanine, tyrosine, and/or serine.
Patients with infectious disease and/or fever also may have reduced amino acid levels, although some amino acids in such patients such as phenylalanine may be present at elevated levels. Patients with kidney failure may have low levels of amino acids such as tyrosine, threonine, leucine, isoleucine, valine, lysine, and/or histidine. Patients with Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, chronic fatigue syndrome may have abnormally low levels of cystine and glutamine in their plasma.
In addition, amino acid levels that are higher than normal may be indicative of a disease state. For example, elevated plasma amino acid levels may be observed in patients with liver disease, pancreatitis, heavy metal poisoning, vitamin C deficiency, and/or vitamin D deficiency. In particular, patients with Wilson's disease may exhibit elevated levels of tryptophan and histidine. Patients with Cushing's disease or gout may exhibit elevated alanine levels. Diabetic patients may exhibit elevated levels of valine, leucine, and/or isoleucine. Hyperactive children may exhibit elevated levels of tyrosine and phenylalanine. Patients with Maple Syrup Urine Disease may have elevated levels of leucine, isoleucine, and valine in their plasma. As such, methods for analyzing amino acids in body fluids such as plasma are useful in medicinal and scientific settings.
Traditionally, analytical methods for amino acids have included a derivatization step. During derivatization, the amino acid is reacted with a derivatizing reagent that facilitates analysis of amino acids in the sample. Derivatizing agents typically react with the free amino groups of amino acids in the sample. Common reagents for derivatizing amino acids include isothiocyanates (e.g., phenyl isothiocynate (PITC)), o-phthaldialdehyde (OPA), 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB), and Nα-(2,4-dinitro-5-fluorophenyl)-L-alainamide (FDAA). Derivatizing agents are useful because they may include substituents that facilitate analysis of the derivatized amino acid. For example, derivatizing agents may include chromophores for UV-absorption detection or fluorophores for fluorescent detection.
Derivatized amino acids may be separated and detected by performing chromatography such as liquid chromatography (LC) or gas chromatography (GC), coupled with mass spectrometry (i.e., LC-MS or GC-MS). Amino acids, however, have diverse chemical structures (e.g., basic, acidic, aromatic, polar, non-polar, etc.), and because of significant differences in the chemical structures of various amino acids that may be present in body fluids, these compounds present a difficult task for analysts to solve in regard to derivatization/separation in LC-MS or GC-MS.
Methods for detecting amino acids using LC and MS have been reported and include, for example, Casetta et al. “Development of a method for rapid quantification of amino acids by liquid chromatography, tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MSMS) in plasma” Clin Chem Lab Med (2000) 38: 391-401; Hess et al, “Acid hydrolysis of silk fibroins and determination of the enrichment of isotopically labeled amino acids using precolumn derivatization and high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry” Anal Biochem (2002) 311:19-26; Ji et al., “Determination of phenethyl isothiocyanate in human plasma and urine by ammonia derivatization and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry” Anal Biochem (2003) 323:39-47; Van Eijik et al., “Determination of amino acid isotope enrichment using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry” (1999) Anal Biochem 271:8-17; and Liu et al. “Derivatization of amino acids with N,N-dimethyl-2,4-dinitro-5-fluorobenzylamine for liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry” (2004) Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom 18:1059-65. Improved methods for detecting amino acids in body fluids arc desirable.